Often debated and not immediately resolved is the one concerning the right amount of food that an adult and healthy dog should eat daily .
In fact, nutrition is one of the most important factors in determining the health of our four-legged friend and his life expectancy.
The fundamental aspects to be taken into consideration are:
- The type and quality of the food
- The right amount of calories
- Just the right amount
Around these three parameters, different scenarios open up with different solutions, without prejudice to the fundamental importance of maintaining the quality of the food chosen at all times. This is in fact the main crux of the matter.
In this regard, in the past we talked about how to choose the right food for your dog in a pet shop . (If you want to learn more , read the dedicated article).
The type of food we choose for our animal also plays a fundamental role and the possibilities in this case are mainly three:
- dry food
- wet food
- home -cooked food
According to experts, the the best – and easiest – way to make sure you feed your dog correctly is to choose wet foods , which are the closest to a type of natural food , but at the same time they are perfectly balanced as regards the nutritional intake and calories, being specially designed.
(For further information read: “Natural nutrition for dogs and cats is made up of wet foods” ).
In fact, we at Life Natural also recommend this type of diet, and we offer a huge choice. See our entire range of tasty and genuine natural products for dogs .
Then of course, no one forbids, once in a while and wisely , to be able to give some snacks , as long as they are healthy ( here is our choice of healthy snacks ) and used sparingly: for example as a reward to educate to good behaviors, or to entertain the animal when it is in trouble.
We talked about it in this article: “ How to give snacks to dogs in a healthy way “.
Having said that, we can return to the fateful question: “How right is it for you to eat a dog every day?”
Well, the right answer is: it depends ! There are many factors at play that affect this:
- Age (puppy, adult or senior)
- The amount of activity performed
- The speed of metabolism
- Body temperature
- The state of health
- Special situations (such as pregnancies)
- Time of year ( hot or cold seasons )
- The weight of the animal
- The type of food chosen (dry, wet or homemade).
A factor that helps us to understand the right amount to give to our furry dog, are certainly the indications given on the food packaging , where both the ingredients, the calories and the doses to be taken into consideration are usually specified.
Weight is a determining factor in calculating the right amount of food: a small dog needs fewer calories than a larger dog. Just to give an example to roughly calculate the right requirement, we could say that an adult and medium-sized dog needs to consume about 30-40 grams of wet food every day, for every kg of weight.
HOW AND HOW MANY TIMES TO GIVE THE DOG TO EAT
This is another question that dog owners often ask themselves, immediately after asking themselves the right amount of food to provide to their pet.
The most common possibilities are mainly three:
- Food at set time intervals. With this mode you decide at what times of the day to provide food to the animal and for how long to leave it available (for example 1 or 2 times a day, for about 1 hour). After this period of time has elapsed, the bowl is removed from the animal, regardless of whether it has run out of food inside it or not. This expedient is suitable for dogs that manage quite well to rationalize their food, but it is definitely to be avoided for dogs suffering from gastric problems or experiencing gastric torsion, also because it is a mode that induces to eat faster and this is not a Well.
- Food always available without limits. This mode, as you can guess, is well suited only to those dogs that know how to self-regulate independently and efficiently on the food they eat. Ideal for dogs with no appetite or for bitches who are pregnant or nursing. While it is not recommended for overweight or particularly voracious dogs.
- Organize food doses by quantity. Finally, this is certainly the best way to provide food to our dog. It consists in correctly calculating the right amount of food that the dog must eat daily, and dividing it into several meals during the day. In this way it will be much easier to keep under control the exact quantity and calories that we provide to the animal, with the advantage of being able to easily notice if the dog, with the same caloric intake, is gaining weight or losing weight, and thus identifying any problems in time. of health.
We intentionally wanted to give you some general indications on the subject. However, we believe that, since nutrition is a very important element for the life of your dog, the best thing is always to consult your trusted veterinarian, at least once , to agree on the type, method and quantity of food necessary for the specific characteristics. of your furry.
